Container opener



-May 12, 1964/ E. HUCK, JR

CONTAINER OPENER Filed Aug 1, 1960 l ad ll lllllllllsD alll INVENTOR. 514/4 Huck J 4 ATTORNEY,

United States Patent 3,132,421 CGNTAINER OPENER Emil Huck, IL, 19831 Purling Brook, Livonia, Mich. Filed Aug. 1, 1960, Ser. No. 46,806 Claims. (Cl. 30-10) This invention relates to container opener devices of the cutter punch variety, and, more particularly, to a bottle and can opener assembly.

The invention has among its objects to provide a can opener device of the cutter punch variety which supports a can in a generally vertical upright position while it is being opened.

A related object is to provide a can opener device of the above character adapted to support and open cans of widely different shapes and sizes.

Another related object is to provide a can opener device of the above character adapted to support and open cans of widely different shapes and sizes without the need for adjusting the device to support and open cans of different sizes.

A further object is to provide a can opener device of the above character in which the can is supported entirely of its own weight in a generally vertical upright position.

A further related object is to provide a can opener device of the above character in which a rimmed can is supported entirely of its own weight from its rim in a generally vertical upright position.

Another object is to provide a combined can and bottle opener device comprised of a minimum number of parts and characterized by simplicity of design and manufacture and convenience, efliciency and ease of operation.

'With reference to the drawings;

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a combination container opener device in accordance with the present invention;

FIGS. 2 and 3 are side elevation views of the container opener device with parts broken away and illustrated in a bottle cap opening position and in a can opening position, respectively;

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of FIG. 2; and

FIGS. 5 and 6 are views of fragmentary parts of the container opener.

Referring to the drawings, the combination opener device 10 comprises a channel-shaped bracket support and reaction member 12 and an operating lever or handle 14 swingably mounted on and located forwardly of the bracket member. The one-piece bracket member 12 includes a back web portion 16 and a pair of laterally spaced, forwardly extending flanges 18, 19 each of which is of reduced width or relieved as shown at 20 intermediate the longitudinally spaced ends thereof to form a pair of spaced, parallel support arms 22, 23 at one or the upper end of the bracket member and a spaced pair of projecting lugs or outwardly-teed feet'24, 25 at the other or lower end thereof. The projecting lugs or feet are bent intermediate their ends and diverge outwardly to form a backing guide or stop for the side or curved peripheral portion of a can received therebetween. The web of the bracket member contains a pair of longitudinally spaced holes 27, 28 therein for receiving a pair of wood screws, as 30, by means of which the'assembly may be mounted, preferably in a vertical upright position, on a wall or rigid backing structure. The web, further, may be lanced asshown at 32 intermediate the ends thereof to provide a support for a conventional cork screw opener tool 34 depending from the lanced web portion and received between the bracket flanges.

The operating handle 14 also is of one-piece construction and includes an enlarged lower end portion 36, an elongated rectangular portion 38, a pivot portion 42, and a cutter punch end portion 44.

3,132,421 Patented May 12, 1964 The enlarged lower end portion 36 is of a truncated or generally trapezoidal shape gradually decreasing in width from its lowermost end 45 toward the elongated rectangular portion and includes a generally similarly shaped bottle-cap opener aperture 46 therein having a downwardly projecting lip 48 of reduced material thickness struck outwardly of the upper end wall 50 thereof. The bottle opening end portion 36 is bent inwardly of and relative to the Vertically disposed handle portion 38 to form an included angle 0 of greater than degrees and less than degrees therebetween and is inclined to the bracket member as shown in FIG. 3. The elongated rectangular portion 38 is slightly wider than the spacing between the bracket flanges and spaces the enlarged end portion 36 from the pivot and cutter portions 42 and 44 which are of reduced width for reception between the bracket flanges.

The pivot portion 42 is bent inwardly of the handle portion 38 along a bend line below the integrally formed, laterally extending shoulders 52, 53 thereof and has a centrally located, longitudinally extending tab 54 which curls slightly downwardly and overhangs the cutter portion 44 located inwardly thereof. Located between the tab 54 and the shoulders 52, 53 is a pair of integrally formed ears or pintles 56, 57 extending laterally from the opposite sides of the pivot portion. I The cutter portion 44 is off-set or struck inwardly from the pivot and tab carrying portion 42 of the handle and has a generally upwardly bent portion extending beyond the tab 54 tapering towards its upwardly pointed end to form a triangular cutter blade or tip 69 that is curled toward the tab spaced therefrom.

The handle is mounted near its cutter end to the bracket by means of the pintles 56, 57 in a pair of aligned openings, as 61, provided in and near the ends of the upper support arms 22, 23 of the bracket. In the closed or folded position of the assembly, the handle assumes the position shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 in which the handle portion 38 depends generally vertically with the lowermost end 45 of the handle bearing and braced against the rise 62 of the bracket foot portions 24, 25, when the device is used as a bottle-cap opener.

To operate as a cap opener, the handle is swung upwardly about its pivot to elevate the bottle opener end above the bracket and to the dotted outline position shown in FIG. 2 in which the shoulders 52, 53 overhang and limit on the uppermost edges of the bracket support arms 22, 23. With the handle left in this position, the upper rimmed end of a can 64 that is to be opened is inserted between the oppositely curled cutter tip 60 and hookshaped tab 54 which engages under the rim 65 of the can as shown. As the can is released, the Weight of the can, located outwardly of the handle pivot, rocks the handle slightly about its pivotal connection to the full line position shown in FIG. 2, in which the shoulders 52, 53 have been raised slightly from the bracket arms and the cutter tip bears firmly on the flat upper end or top 66 of the can. The can is thus efliciently gripped between the cutter tip and the tab 54 which is hooked under the can rim, with the weight of the can illustrated at its mass center Mc, establishing a turning moment about a plane through the handle pivot and tending to rotate or swing the can inwardly toward the bracket. The turning moment and inward movement of the can is resisted, however, by the bracket or foot portions 24, 25, which limit against the side or curved peripheral surface 67 of the can intermediate the upper and lower ends or the top and bottom of the can. It will be noted that the bracket lug or foot portions do not engage the bottom end 68 of the can to provide any vertical support therefor, but act inthe cutter tip and the tab portion of the handle and is supported entirely of its own weight at its upper rirn 65 by the tab 54 of the handle. The bracket foot portions maintain the can in a generally vertical upright position to prevent the can from rocking or sliding off of the tab portion of the handle and supply the reaction thrust for opposing the turning moment and maintaining the force equilibrium circuit for static balance of the can and opener assembly considered as a system.

With the can thus completely supported without the need for any manual support or contact therewith on the part of the operator, the can opening operation is completed by rocking the handle downwardly about its pivot, the tab portion 54 acting as a fulcrum to cause the cutter punch to pierce the upper end of the container. The can is still effectively gripped and supported of its own weight in a generally vertical upright position during and after completion of this operation without any danger of tipping or spilling the contents thereof. The can may then be removed from the opener by the operator by raising the handle to remove the cutter blade from the top of the can or merely by removing the can forwardly from the bracket and cutter, whereby the handle will raise upwardly and then fall back automatically to its closed position shown in FIG. 3. Since the can is supported from the rim at its upper end and the bracket feet engage only the side of the can, it will be noted that the opener device is devoid of any structure requiring adjustment of the opener to accept cans of dilferent shapes and sizes.

Static design considerations may dictate that the bracket feet 24, 25 ought to contact the back side or surface of the can at a point or points spaced below the mass center of the can, and that the greater this spacing, the more effective will be the gripping force and support of the can and the less force will be required on the part of the operator to puncture and open the can. In order that the opener device may operate most eflficiently for cans of a wide range of different sizes, the longitudinal spacing of the bracket feet 24, 25 from the upper support arms 22, 23 of the bracket ought preferably to be suflicient to locate the bracket feet below the horizontal plane through the mass center of the longest can of the range of can sizes to be supported and opened with the opener device. Otherwise stated, the horizontal plane through the mass center of the longest can to be freely supported and opened with the opener device ought to lie between the upper support arms 22, 23 and the back stop foot portions 24, 25 of the bracket. With relation to the parts of the opener, a support arm to back-stop foot spacing several times greater than the distance between handle pivot and end of the cutter tip will be satisfactory.

FIG. 3 illustrates the opener device in a folded and bottle-opening operation in which a bottle '70 having a crown type cap '72 is inserted by the cap into the opening 46 in the enlarged end 36 of the handle with the outwardly struck lip 4-3 of the upper wall 58 of the opening engaging under the corrugated rim of the bottle cap and the top of the cap engaging the edge of the lower wall '72 of the opening. The lowermost end 45 of the handle is inclined to and bears against the rise of the foot portions of the bracket to supply a reaction thrust in opposition to the turning moment established by the weight of the bottle. The bottle, therefore, will be supported from its cap end and is opened by rocking the bottle downwardly as a handle. By reason of the off-vertical inclination of the enlarged bottle-opening end 36 of the handle 14, the bottle is supported in an upwardly inclined, rather than in a horizontal, position and thus prevents spilling of the bottle contents.

In the folded handle position of the opener device, the sharp projecting parts of the opener are received between the bracket flanges and are shielded thereby from accidental contact with the operator.

What is claimed is:

1. A container opener comprising a bracket, a handle pivotally mounted at one end on and depending from said bracket and having a can perforating cutter adjacent the pivotally mounted end thereof and a hook-shaped rim engaging fulcrum member adjacent said cutter adapted to engage under the rim of a rimmed container, and a container engaging means projecting from said bracket in a direction to engage the periphery of a container intermediate the ends of the container and cooperating with said rim engaging member on the handle to maintain the container in an upright position supported from the rim engaging member when the handle is swung away from the bracket to receive the rim of a container inserted between the cutter and the rim engaging fulcrum member and the cutter rests on the upper end of the container.

2. A container opener comprising a channel-shaped bracket having a pair of laterally spaced flanges at one end thereof and a depending handle having an integrally formed piercing cutter at one end thereof, a pair of laterally extending integrally formed ears near the cutter and forming pivot pintles received between the flanges at one end of the bracket for pivotally connecting the handle to the bracket, and a hook-shaped rim engaging fulcrum member struck out of the handle near the cutter end thereof adapted to engage under the rim of a rimmed container, said bracket having a pair of spaced apart outwardly diverging extensions of the flanges near the end thereof spaced longitudinally of the bracket from the pivotal connection of the handle to the bracket for engaging the periphery of a container intermediate the ends of the container.

3. A two-piece container opener comprising a Wall mountable bracket member having a web portion and a pair of laterally spaced flanges each of reduced width intermediate the length of the bracket to form a pair of spaced extensions at the opposite ends thereof and a downwardly depending operating handle facing said bracket and its extensions and having a flat hold portion, a cutter at one end of the handle, pivot means integrally formed on the cutter end of the handle for pivotally connecting the handle near the cutter end thereof between a pair of laterally spaced extensions of said flanges at one end of the bracket member, and a hook-shaped rim engaging member struck out of and adjacent the cutter end of the handle and adapted to engage under the rim of a rimmed container inserted between the cutter and the rim engaging member of the handle in the raised position of the handle, the extensions at the end of the brack et member opposite the pivotal connection of the handle to the bracket diverging outwardly to back up and engage the periphery of the container intermediate the ends of the container.

4. A two-piece wall mountable container opener comprising a channel-shaped bracket having a pair of laterally spaced flanges at one end thereof and a depending operating handle having an integrally formed piercing punch cutter at one end thereof, a pair of laterally extending integrally formed ears near the cutter and forming pivot pintles received between the flanges at one end of the bracket for pivotally connecting the handle to the bracket, and a hook-shaped rim engaging fulcrum member struck out of the handle near the cutter end thereof adapted to engage under the rim of a rimmed container in the raised position of the handle, said bracket having a pair of spaced apart outwardly diverging extensions of the flanges near the end thereof spaced longitudinally of the bracket from the pivotal connection of the bandle to the bracket for engaging the periphery of a container intermediate the ends of the container, the end of said handle opposite the cutter end thereof normally bear ing against the flange edges of the bracket above the said extensions thereof in the lowered position of the handle.

5. A container opener comprising a bracket, a handle pivotally mounted at one end and depending from said bracket and having a can perforating punch cutter adjacent the pivotally mounted end thereof and a hookshaped rim engaging member on the handle adjacent said cutter adapted to engage under the rim of rimmed container, and a container engaging means on said bracket engaging the periphery of a container intermediate the ends of the container and maintaining the container in a generally vertical position supported entirely of its own weight from the rim engagingmember in the raised position of the handle, said container engaging means on said bracket being spaced from the pivot mounting of the handle to the bracket a distance several times greater than 6 the distance between the end of the punch cutter and the hook-shaped rim engaging member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,691,821 Geipel Oct. 19, 1954 2,698,993 Williamson et a1 Jan. 11, 1955 2,701,413 Staller Feb. 8, 1955 2,712,177 Bauer July 5, 1955 2,765,530 Kohnen Oct. 9, 1956 2,823,452 Segal Feb. 18, 1958 2,845,702 Royal Aug. 5, 1958 

1. A CONTAINER OPENER COMPRISING A BRACKET, A HANDLE PIVOTALLY MOUNTED AT ONE END ON AND DEPENDING FROM SAID BRACKET AND HAVING A CAN PERFORATING CUTTER ADJACENT THE PIVOTALLY MOUNTED END THEREOF AND A HOOK-SHAPED RIM ENGAGING FULCRUM MEMBER ADJACENT SAID CUTTER ADAPTED TO ENGAGE UNDER THE RIM OF A RIMMED CONTAINER, AND A CONTAINER ENGAGING MEANS PROJECTING FROM SAID BRACKET IN A DIRECTION TO ENGAGE THE PERIPHERY OF A CONTAINER INTERMEDIATE THE ENDS OF THE CONTAINER AND COOPERATING WITH SAID RIM ENGAGING MEMBER ON THE HANDLE TO MAINTAIN THE CONTAINER IN AN UPRIGHT POSITION SUPPORTED FROM THE RIM ENGAGING MEMBER WHEN THE HANDLE IS SWUNG AWAY FROM THE BRACKET TO RECEIVE THE RIM OF A CONTAINER 